December 3, 2021
Pratima Mondal makes Zero Hour mention on malnutrition and the urgent need for mitigating it
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Sir,
India has been witnessing a continuous decline in its position in the Global Hunger Index. In the previous year, the Government claimed that wrong old data had been uploaded and this year the blame has been shifted to wrong methodology. Instead of accepting the harsh reality and working on the problem, the Government, as it always does, is opting for an escape route.
Coming to the data provided by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, in response to an RTI query, 3.3 million children are malnourished in India. The National Family Health Survey report, published in 2020 by the government, depicted a grim portrayal as well. On the one hand, the data of several states was not published and on the other, 11 out of 27 states reflected a progress worse than expected. I would also like to point out that most of the figures focussed on women and children, neglecting the adult male population.
Just imagine the scale at which India is suffering from hunger, despite the fact that nearly half the population is in the agriculture sector.
Here, I would like to take the opportunity to state the steps taken by our Honourable Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Through her sincere efforts, every household is receiving ration under the Duare Ration programme, which does not limit its reach to children and women the way Poshan Abhiyan does. Through another programme, every person is assured a plate of highly nutritious food at a mere Rs 5.
I would conclude by requesting the Government to stop wasting time by baseless fault-finding and focus on real development.
Thank you, Sir.
